Pocket cigarette-case.



S. HOLTZCLAW POCKET CIGARETTE CASE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. I8, 1916.

Emma July .10, 1917.

POCKET CIGARETTE-CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 191?.

Application filed January 18, 1916. Serial No. 72,670..

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY l-loLrzoLAw, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Wyandotte and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pocket Cigarette-Gases, of which the following is a specification.

lhis invention relates to pocket cigarette cases and is designed more especially as an improvement in a similar device for which D. H. Garnett and myself secured Patent N o. 11d0805, May 18, 1915, my special object being to provide a device for pressing a row of cigarettes to a position from which they are successively delivered from the case, which can be fastened in its advanced position for convenience in charging the casewith cigarettes.

Another object is to provide a guard which not only holds the cigarettes in line in the case so that the presser may impart proper movement to them but which when disposed in operative position after the case is loaded automatically releases the presser sothat the latter shall be rendered operative to perform its pressing function.

Other objects relating more especially to simplicity, economy and refinements of construction will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the appended claims, and in order that the invention may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1, is a top plan view of a cigarette case embodying my inventiomthe same being shown with the lid open and with certain parts broken away to more clearly CllS- close certain details of construction.

Fig. 2, is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line HH of Fig. 1 with the lid closed and clearly showing the presser in its released or operative position.

Fig. 3, is a section on the line III-J11 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is a vertical section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5, is a reduced fragmentary plan view to show the mounting for the spring roller for operating the presser.

In the said drawing, a shallow box made preferably of sheet metal and preferably curved for fitting more compactly in the pocket, consists of the bottom 1, and a hinged lid 2 adapted to be snapped together in a common and well known manner and provided with a thumb piece 3 adapted to be pressed when it is desired to open the box, the latter also having an ordinary hinge coil tfor raising the lid. The catch and the hlnge coil are not detailed as they may be of any preferred type. and form no novel part of the invention.

At one side the flanges or walls of the bot tom'and lid are provided with similar semicircular openings 5 and 6 respectively, the same forming the cigarette ejectment openlng. Near the hinged end of the bottom and adjacent the side walls of the same, is a pair of upwardly projecting posts 7 and 8, the former being transversely bifurcated at its upper end at 9 and provided with a vertical socket 10, the bottom of the bifurcation outward of the socket sloping upwardly and outwardly as at 11, for a purpose which hereinafter appears. In the horizontal plane of the bifurcation 9, the other post is provided with a horizontal socket 12 in its inner side.

13 is a rod fitting at one end in the socket 12 and provided at its opposite end with a crank or down-turned end 1% engaging socket 10 to prevent the rod from revolving under conditions hereinafter mentioned. The. rod fits in the socket 12 with sufiicient play to permit it to be swung upward pivotally until the lower extremity of its cranked end is, in the plane of the inclined surface 11 when the rod can be moved endwise up said incline to free its opposite end from the socket 12.

Journaled on the rod is a hollow roller 15 and encircling the rod within the roller and secured at its opposite ends to the roller and the rod is a spring 16. 17 is a tape or the like fastened at one end to the roller and extending forwardly from the underside of the same. When the tape is drawn forward it. tensions the spring so that the latter when free to do so will revolve the roller and wind the tape upon it. At the front end of the tape is a curved plate 18, constituting a presser and the same is provided with an elongated opening 19 for convenience in attaching it to the tape, and said presser is provided with a curved hook 20 adapted preliminary to the loading of the device with cigarettes, to be fitted into a slotted 20. 1 line of cigarettes as indicated in Fig. 2.

. Inclosing the posts and the spring actucatch or loop 21 fastened to or formed upon the front wall of the bottom 1. To hold the cigarettes down upon the bottom of the case and upon the tape so that the cigarettes cannot fall out of the case when the lidis' opened, and also to prevent a line of cigarettes from buckling upward under the ,pr'essureimposedthereon by the presser, a

guard 22 provided with downturned end, is

pivoted at one end on'the hinge rod of the case, the other. end being adapted to be sprung into the slotted catch or loop 21 whereby it will be retained in position against accidental dislodgment, and .in entering said loop or catch the guard will dislodge the hook .20 of the presser from engagement with 'saidcatch or loop and thus permit. the spring-actuated roller .to turn and wind theftape thereon untilthe presser obtains a grip against the outermost of the ated roller and forming a stop wall or abutment for; the cigarettes an inverted U- shapedhouslng 23, the same extending from side wall to side wall. The front wall of thehousing is disposed in the'plane of the rear edge of the ejectment opening and flush H A with-the rear edge of thetransverse slot 24:

in the bottom 1, and said front wall is also provided near'thetop of the housing with c a slot 25 and at its lower edge with a slot 26 through which the tape 17 extends. 27 is a i. cigarette ejecting plate fitting flatly against the front w a ll of the housing and provided at its outer end with a forwardly projecting lip 28 for successive engagement with the end ofthe cigarette most remote from the ejectment opening.

[The plate 27 extends for thegreaterpart i o f itslength through the slot 25 of the houssing and is bent downward at 29 within the housing to insure the retention of the plate in'posit'ion in the housing, and to hold the plate normally in and to withdraw-it to the position shown clearly in Figs. 1 .and 2, a

retractile'spring 30 is attached at its opposite'endsto the housing and said downwardly bent portion of said plate.

To manipulate theejectment slide it' is provided with a right angle shaped handle, 31, the

' same extending slidingly through the slot 24 and fiatly'against the underside of the bottom at which point pressure can be readily applied upon it to operate it for cigarette ejectment purposes.

\To charge the case with cigarettes the i presserisfirst drawn forward and then the f hook 20 is engaged with the catch or loop 21. Cigarettes sufficient to lie side by side arethen placed in the case so as to extend j transversely thereof as shown,'the*outermost cigarett'e being disposed against-the presser and the innermost against the housing and slide plate 27. The guard 22 isthen swung downward to the position shown in Fig. 2 so that its front end shall in entering the catch or loop dislodge the presser and thereby permit the spring actuated roller to draw the presser rearward until the cigarettes are clamped between the presser and the hous- .ejectment opening as indicated by dotted lines Fig. 1, and upon removing the pressure from the handle, the spring 30 returns the ejectment slide to normal position. The operator then grasps the-projecting end of the cigarette and withdraws the same fully from the case, and as this occurs the springactuated roller turns and in winding up additional tape causes the presser plate to move the line of cigarettes until the innermost one thereof is brought to bear sidewise against the housing and ejectment slide when the case is again ready for use.

7 From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a cigarette case possessing the features of advantage enumerated as desirable and I wish it to be understood that while I have illustrated and described what now appears to me to be the preferred form of thedevice, I reserve the right to make allv changes falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shallow cigarette case, comprising a 7 of the lid, means for limiting such movebottom having an ejectment opening at one side and a hinged lid, a catch formed on the ment when one of said cigarettes is in line with such ejectment opening, and a guard within the case and extending over the line of cigarettes crosswise of the latter, and hinged at one end to the case and provided at itsv other end with a downturnecl end adapted for engagement. with said catch and for simultaneously tripping the presser from engagement with the latter to leave the presser free to press the line of cigarettes sidewise. 7

2. In a cigarette case, the combination of a pair of posts, one provided with a horizontal socket in its inner face and the other with a bifurcation in its upper end, and a vertical 1,233,236 all socket opening into said bifurcation, a rod journaled at one end in the said horizontal socket fitting at its other end in said bifurcation and provided at such end with a down-turned portion engaging the vertical socket communicating with such bifurcation, a hollow roller journaled on said rod, and

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the a spring coiled around said rod and secured at its opposite ends to the latter and to the roller.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

SIDNEY HOLTZOLAW.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

